SaaS products, content marketing, and productivity.
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes” is a quote from @naval. What I think it means is this: you should think about the final result of your actions before deciding to do something. And if the final result is stupid, then the game is stupid (and, you probably shouldn’t be playing it). I experienced this in full force the other day. On X (twitter) I had a post go viral. It wasn’t necessarily…
“I’ve had a migraine all day.” – Sept. 20, 2022 “I’ve got a full blown migraine. I’m just in a lot of pain.” – May 1, 2023 “My head just hurts. I didn’t want to take anything but moving more just makes it hurt.” – Sept. 16, 2023 “Advil is the only thing strong enough for my crazy migraines.” – Nov. 18, 2023 “I don’t feel good at all. Beginning of a migraine. Sick to my stomach. Not sure why.” –…
I have a confession to make. I haven’t been working nearly as much as I should have been, nor as much as I claim to have been over the last couple of years. It’s easy to blame it on Covid, or the economy, or acquiring 5 children over the last 7 years. But in reality I was distracted, and not putting myself in an environment where I could work productively. This essay is about the good things that…
Your level of conviction will determine your level of achievement. I’ve been thinking a lot about conviction. The ability to be so staunch about an idea that it causes you to reject anything that’s not that idea. When you start to observe people who are leaders, or successful, or popular, you begin to realize that they truly believe in something. They believe in it so much that it causes them to…
Everyone, every day, is making decisions about how to spend their time effectively. We all make different decisions about how to spend our time because we all have different contexts. Our personalities, interests, skills, location, relationships, health, etc. In my life I have: A wife and 4 kids (soon 5!) A SaaS business I run from home A house with land and a creek A belief and conviction in…
Your favorite creator, developer, solopreneur, etc., has a decked out office with lights, a fancy sitting/standing desk, nice cameras, maxed out computer, fancy monitor, custom mechanical keyboard, studio headphones, and a chair with a price tag that will make your eyes water. But that’s just par for the course. You NEED all that stuff to be successful. It’s just part of the game. Otherwise, why…
Who you are determines what you do, and eventually what you’ll become. Your character is the bottleneck of the trajectory of your life. When most people get started on a new journey to better themselves, they think about the different things they need to do to achieve some goal. Do more of this, do less of this, etc. And that’s okay. It’s important to recognize that your actions determine outcomes…
This essay has consumed my mind for about two months. That’s normally how I write. I stew on a thought for a long time before I am ready to spill it out in writing as a coherent thought. Well, this one is a little different. I’m not ready to write it, because I haven’t yet come to terms with how convicting it is in my own life. I know it to be true, but man, is it hard to implement. I’m reminded…
Years ago I was very public about my company’s metrics . Revenue, traffic, etc. were all on display. Things were great. Everything was up and to the right. But then, things started going sideways. Sideways, not in a horrible way, but literally sideways. All metrics were showing a plateau. Then, they started slowly moving down and to the right. I was less open about sharing stats. I was…
Writing a note to my wife every day has single-handedly made my life so much better in a lot of ways, and I want more people to experience the same thing. Before we get into the juicy stuff, a bit of context: I’m a husband who is 30. I also have 4 kids, ages 6 and under. I’m the sole-provider for the family (though my wife works harder). Between the job, the kids, and extrafamilial obligations,…
This article might just be for me, but maybe it’s for you too. If it’s for you, I’m glad you liked it. If it’s not for you, thanks for stopping by. This is an idea I have been thinking about for a long time (months? years?). Recently it has been striking a chord with my gut and I believe it’s something that’s a sign of maturity (and plainly, just getting older). There’s two ideas I want to get…
I’ve done yearly reviews in the past, and I’ve made predictions about the future year. Both of which were rife with survivorship bias and were largely useless. Simply opportunities to drive clicks and boost my self esteem. This year I wanted to talk about the last year from a different perspective: one of productivity, longevity, and my intentions in regards to the future of me and my family. In…
A half-baked thought came into my head the other day and I wanted to dwell on it (fully bake the thought) in this post. This may be one of the more important things I write in my lifetime (for me, at least). Like usual, I’m thinking long-term. I don’t know if that’s something I do too much, but in hindsight when I make long-term decisions instead of short term decisions it typically works out for…
Rob Dyrdek was recently interviewed on the “My First Million” podcast. I didn’t have crazy expectations for this episode, but this man has gone through an incredible transformation from a skateboarding thrill junkie to an established businessman building generational wealth. It’s incredible, and reminds me of how much progress I have made in the last couple of years. It’s proof that anyone can…
A good marriage is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things a person can have in life. When fostered, it can help you become the best version of yourself, and lead to a life that brings nothing but success and increase. A productive marriage can build far greater things than any individual. However, an incredible amount of marriages are not like this. They’re either completely broken,…
I’ve recently discovered something quite fundamental that separates most olympic athletes from other outlets of physical fitness: their dedication to mobility. Mobility can be boiled down to having strength while maintaining flexibility . Or, strength through a wide range of motion. When you think of a stereotypical body builder (not necessarily an athlete), you think of someone who lacks…
I think about this tweet a lot. https://t.co/A4svCcE1Yy — Jordan O'Connor (@jdnoc) April 3, 2021 This is one of the fundamental perspectives that first-time entrepreneurs, and especially people who’ve never manufactured (created) a product, get wrong. They might assume it’s all about the product. How can we get people to like the product more? Should we add all the other features our…
I told you so When I was a kid I practiced in public. In high school I played soccer at an elite level. One of the best players in my state. There’s one thing I did that was unique: I practiced in public . I would practice in my backyard, performing juggling moves, and demonstrating speed and finesse for cars that drove by. Sometimes the cars would “see” (I don’t technically know if they were…
I’ve never done a true yearly review before. Mostly because I’m lazy. I don’t keep detailed track of the progress of anything, so it’s hard to remember unless I write it down. So, this is a look back at 2020 from my memory. The Stats On Jan. 1 2020, I wrote a quick blog post outlining some stats about my life at that current time. Here’s what they look like now: Age: 28 (+3.7%) Customers: 1356…
Competition is an odd topic. It’s something a lot of people care about. They want to make sure their ideas are protected and that they’re not being taken over by some other company. As an Indiehacker, competition is a bit different than corporate competition. If someone takes your idea and then adds a few employees behind it, you’re now outgunned. That’s how it feels , but that’s not what’s…
One time my wife and I were on our way home from a Church meeting. We had two kids at the time, and for some reason we didn’t have them with us (normally we would bring them). It’s only about a 5 minute drive home from church, so we had some extra time to ourselves while the kids were at their grandparent’s. On the way home there’s a gas station, and we stopped to get some gas to fill up the car.…
This is a topic I have wanted to write about for a while. I’m not sure if it’s controversial or not. Some people might not like it. Some people might think I’m closed minded. It’s all good, I’m just here to help people who are listening. This is a hidden truth that isn’t spoken about much. The reason being - it’s impossible to measure. How can you measure how much destruction you’ve avoided by…
Five years ago I didn’t know HTML, CSS, or JS. I didn’t know how to use Firebase as a backend, or Node for webhooks and server calls. I didn’t even know what SEO or copywriting was. I didn’t know how to do Facebook ads, Google ads. Nothing. I’d never done any of it. The few skills I had were product, code and writing. I’m writing this post because my brother is getting into FB ads. He’s…
Well, I’ve arrived at a new milestone. It’s been two months since my last post about taking action . I’ve been taking action to get to this milestone, and I’m both shocked and not surprised at the same time. Shocked, because I didn’t intend on building something this big from the beginning. Not surprised because it’s exactly how I planned and I’ve been working on it every day for 2.5 years. It’s…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the future. Not the future as a whole. My future. What do I want to be doing in 10 years? What are some of my long-term goals? What’s the point of doing all of this? What should I be writing about? I enjoy writing, and many people have enjoyed my writing. Until now, it has been a mixed bag of technical content, “self-help” content, and documenting my journey…
In this post I will talk about some of the skills I acquired to start and grow my product much farther than I ever could have imagined. Getting to $20k MRR was not an accident, but getting to $1k was. When I started out, I only intended on generating ~$500 MRR to help pay the bills. But, I did too much right (without knowing it) and was a bit naive. I’m writing this because I haven’t talked much…
I sent out this tweet which seemed to resonate with a lot of people. After I build something that exceeds my basic needs, what’s next? I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I don’t have perfect clarity on it yet (part of the reason I’m writing about it). There’s a few distinct options available to me that I can start preparing for now. Here’s the list of options: Keep operating this business as…
Before 2020 I had grand plans about all of the things I was going to write throughout the next year. I was going to try to keep an active newsletter, and write helpful content for people around the mindset of creating value and increasing in wealth. But, that didn’t happen. It’s not because I haven’t been writing. I’ve been writing a lot, and there’s at least 5 half-written drafts that I just…
Just before the start of the new year, I started a calisthenics routine to start building muscle (mostly in my upper-body). I grew up as a soccer player, and ran track as well. I never played a sport that demanded strength in my arms, and as a developer-by-trade neither did my work. I’ve always had strong, muscular legs, but my upper body is a different story. Thin arms, bony chest, no lats to…
The Idea Minimize your needs, while maximizing your income. That’s the secret to long-term success. As soon as you need to spend all of the money you’re making, you’re in hot water. You’re not planning for the future. You’re burning too fast. Keeping your costs to a minimum is the best way to build longevity and sustainability. It allows you to stay in the race longer. You can hold out longer than…
2019 was the greatest year in my life. It’s the year where everything turned around. The “overnight success” that has been several years in the making. It depends on who you ask, and what your definition of success is. I still don’t make as much as the average FAANG engineer, but I make more than double what I made a year ago. And success isn’t just about the money. I have more time to spend with…
December was not a great month for the Closet Assistant . Growth is down, search traffic is down, and free trials are down. It’s not all bad - the revenue is still up from a month ago, but not much. Typically, the product has been growing at a rate of $1k to $2k MRR per month. This month it was just $300. And obviously, I’m still making plenty of money to be able to support my family. Nothing is…
In the year of 2020, I am writing about increase. “Increase” is a blog series and newsletter for technical individuals who are interested in learning the principles of success found in the Bible and other writings of great minds in history. In this post I hope to define what increase is, demonstrate it’s purpose and impact, and talk about my vision for the project. Let’s dig in. What is increase…
This post is dedicated to outlining what I would like to personally accomplish in 2020. In short, it’s a lot of studying, writing, and product development (code). 2020 is a new chapter As of this past November (exactly a month ago), I am completely unemployed. I don’t have a manager. I don’t have a boss. I don’t have a todo list with priorities handed to me. I get to do whatever I want, which is…
I’m not the best developer. I’m not the best writer. I’m not the best at SEO. I’m not the best SaaS business owner. But yet, I have combined those skills and talents into something that has brought me and my family lots of money. Focusing on that, instead of thinking I need to be the “best” at any single given thing, allows me to continue to be consistency successful. I’m writing about…
Well, I went ahead and did it. I quit my job. I’m a full-time entrepreneur. I think it feels exactly how I expected it to. It’s a mix of being incredibly grateful to not be caught in the corporate rat race, and a realization that every decision I make directly impacts my future. The latter part was always true, but I didn’t have as much control over the outcome. At a job, you can work hard or…
There’s a reason why you’re stuck in the same situation day after day. You’ve tried to change things. Everyone does. You say today will be different, but then it just ends up being the same. The truth is you’re stuck because of a biblical principle that people ignore. That principle is seed time and harvest. Sowing and reaping. Many people only think about it in terms of the future. “I’m gonna see…
As I noted in my last “journal” entry, I’m quitting my job in a few weeks. November 8th. I show up to work and have thoughts. “What am I doing here?”. I’ve had some mixed emotions about this change. It’s all great, and definitely what I want to be doing, but I’m slightly nervous about the day-to-day implementation of working on my business full-time. Like, what do I do with all of that time? I’ve…
It’s October. Crisp fall days here in western NY. I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. Soon, in November, I’ll be quitting my full-time job. Something I’ve had for the last 7 years. Every week, Monday though Friday, a 45 minute drive to work. Right now I am working part-time to transition to full-time founder. I work Thursdays and Fridays on the product, and Monday - Wednesday at my job. The free time is…
This was a happy accident, and I wouldn’t have really discovered the power of it had Harry not pinged me about some of my SEO tactics. He’ll be writing something over on marketingexamples.com about it. Definitely check it out! Okay, it wasn’t an accident. I talked about it the “External Traffic” section of my last article on SEO. Here’s the hook: I got an article that had essentially 0 organic…
I’ve gone from full-time employee to part-time. First of all, this is huge for me. The Closet Assistant makes more than enough for me and my family to survive, and it’s stable enough to rely on. There needs to be a fundamental shift in how I operate the business, however. That’s what this post is about. In the month of August, I spent the entire month adding features. I spent the last week…
I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to talk about this. I’m not an expert. I don’t know what I am doing most of the time. Most of the success I have had has been based on a few good principles that pretty much everyone can follow. If that’s the case, why should anyone listen to what I have to say? Sure, following my journey might be entertaining, but when I talk about best practices I’m only…
Lately I have been writing on Facebook to my friends. I’m trying to help encourage them to start growing and changing their lives for the better. This was mostly an experiment. It was to see who still existed on FB, and also to test some of my content on my friends. I found it really easy to write to my firends, which was surprising. It’s a lot easier to write something that’s helpful when you…
I never set out to become a niche blogger. Yet, here I am, writing to you, the reader, about specific topics that probably only interest a few million people on the planet. Every time I go digging through Ahrefs , I am blown away by the sheer amount of intent-based keywords that are easy to rank for (and don’t have a clear winning top result) across any niche you can possibly imagine. I’ve done it…
Just over a year ago, I wrote this blog post . It’s titled “What It’s Like to be an Indiehacker with $200k in Debt”. Today, I’m in a much different financial situation. In fact, I recently crossed $100k in annual revenue for my business. My debt is getting eliminated, and I can afford to go on a date with my wife whenever we want. What changed? How did I go from that poor of a scenario, to getting…
I’ll try to keep this story brief. In fact, just about everything in this post is brief. It’s meant to introduce you to topics to let you explore further. On April 26, 2019, I wanted to write a blog post for my startup Closet Tools . I did some keyword research, found an easy intent-based keyword, and got writing. I spent about an hour at Starbucks writing a ~1300 word blog post targeting the…
You Choose That’s the beauty of everything in life. Everything is your choice. You don’t get to choose necessarily what happens to you, but you get to chose how you respond. How you respond is much more important that what happens to you. And even in the vein of not being able to choose what happens to you — you choose the people you surround yourself with. You choose the things you say and don’t…
“It all comes down to who you want to be in 5 years…“ is something I say very often when talking to people about how they haven’t taken action on their goals. When you can precisely create a vision for yourself, it helps you create a framework for decisions that you need to make today. When you can ask yourself, “does this line up with who I want to be in 5 years?”, it adds a tremendous amount of…
It’s been a year since I launched the Closet Assistant . It’s also been a year (to the day) since I made my first dollar online. I’m not an expert. I’m not a better marketer, developer, or founder than anyone else. I don’t always know what I’m doing - but there are a few things I know. That’s what this post is about. Picking An Idea I would write quite a bit about this topic here, but I already…
I have already written about my ‘ One Rep ’ system. A system of starting so small that building a successful habit is inevitable. But I’ve been thinking lately about my own self maintenance and how I - more often than not - don’t take care of myself and let my current preoccupation consume my time and energy for far too long. It’s a problem that is common with people of my personality type (…